White Nationalist Speech Fizzles Out to Protests in Florida

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Gainesville, Florida, ahead of a planned speech from white nationalist Richard Spencer Thursday. (Published Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017)

Richard Spencer and other prominent white nationalists have lost their official blue check marks on Twitter after the social media platform announced changes to its verification practices.

Twitter said Wednesday that its official verification of public figures' accounts had "long been perceived as an endorsement." The platform added that it is working on a new verification process and removing blue badges from "accounts whose behavior does not fall within these new guidelines."

After the series of tweets, Spencer said on his account, which has more than 79,000 followers, that he is "verified no more! Is it not okay to be proudly white?"

Far-right activist Laura Loomer also lost her verification, saying it is "a form of censorship." Jason Kessler, organizer of the far-right Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, lost his badge as well.

Highlights From Senate Intelligence Hearing with Facebook, Twitter and Google

Representatives from Facebook, Google and Twitter answered questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee about voter suppression and Russian meddling in U.S politics through social media ads.